The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday strongly condemned China for its attempts to press Taiwan into submitting to its political stance, after a long-time diplomatic ally announced that it was establishing ties with Beijing.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) earlier in the day announced that Taiwan was cutting diplomatic relations with El Salvador after the Central American nation asked for an “astronomical sum” of financial assistance for a port development project.
The council accused Beijing of ignoring Taipei’s goodwill and requests for dialogue on peace in the Taiwan Strait, and said China’s actions would only draw Taiwanese more firmly together.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan has stern faith in its capability to defend itself to protect its democratic system against communist China’s “brutish practices,” the council said.
Taiwan’s foreign policy leaves the country no room to satisfy El Salvador’s unreasonable request, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said.
“In order to stifle Taiwan’s diplomatic progress in the United States, China is willing to satisfy El Salvador’s needs. Chinese taxpayers should think whether their money is being spent correctly,” Wang said.
Taiwan has to strive to become stronger to support itself, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said.
“No country’s future should rely on others’ friendliness toward it,” he said.
Ko said his understanding of the current situation is that while the US is pressuring China, Beijing in turn is bullying Taiwan, and this is likely to continue.
“The Beijing government should adjust its strategies. Cross-strait relations should not be handled within the framework of the antagonistic relationship between the US and China,” he said.
“While it should be the dog that wags its own tail, oftentimes it becomes the tail wagging the dog, so I think it [China] should be more careful and not let its nationalism go overboard,” Ko added.
Taiwan’s loss of yet another diplomatic ally just one day after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) return from two state visits was proof that the president’s diplomatic strategy is a “total failure,” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said.
It happened just one day after Tsai returned from a nine-day trip to Paraguay and Belize, during which she made relatively high-profile transit stops in the US cities of Los Angeles and Houston.
While calling El Salvador’s decision an “unwise” one, KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that the Tsai administration should apologize to the public and take full responsibility for Taiwan’s spate of diplomatic losses.
“The Tsai administration owes the public an explanation, especially as the president just returned from visits to the nation’s diplomatic allies. This shows that her diplomatic strategy is an utter failure,” Hung said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lacked a clear grasp of the situation with the nation’s diplomatic allies, he said, adding that several Salvadoran officials visited Taiwan this year and Wu met with his Salvadoran counterpart.
As Beijing is believed to be behind the El Salvador’s switch of allegiance, Hung urged China to acknowledge the Republic of China’s existence and refrain from squeezing its international space.
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